Obama's daughter safe after Mexico quake

Malia Obama, the 13-year-old daughter of US President Barack Obama, who is on vacation in Mexico was safe after a strong earthquake there, the White House said Tuesday.

"In light of today's earthquake, we can confirm that Malia Obama is safe and was never in danger," Xinhua quoted a spokeswoman for first lady Michelle Obama as saying.

Strong tremors were felt in Mexico City and prompted residents to flee in panic from swaying buildings Tuesday as a powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake jolted Mexico.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon wrote in his Twitter account that there has been no casualties after the earthquake jolted the country.

Calderon said neither casualties nor severe damages have been reported, adding that electricity lines and health services were working.

"It has been a strong alarm, but so far, we haven't had any victims or large damages," he wrote.

The quake, which struck at 12.02 p.m., had a depth of 17.5 km, Xinhua cited the US Geological Survey (USGS) as saying.

The epicentre was located 193 km east of the famous tourist resort of Acapulco on the Pacific coast in Guerrero state, the USGS said.

Buildings in the Mexico City swayed amid strong tremors and residents ran out into the streets.

People said buildings in the populous residential area of Condesa in the capital shook for several minutes.

"This was terrifying. It was without doubt the strongest earthquake I have ever experienced here," a terrified resident told Xinhua.

The Mexican capital which is home to 20 million people.

It was not immediately known if the quake caused any severe damage or injuries.

Shortly after the tremor, ambulance sirens were heard in many parts of the city.

"There was earth and smoke coming from below the ground, even the tallest of the buildings in Reforma Avenue were swaying wildly from side to side and windows were crashing around us," said Maria Gonzalez, a worker.

"The whole ground started moving below me where I was walking, people were terrified. This felt as strong as in 1985," she said, referring to the magnitude-8.0 quake which killed over 10,000 people in Mexico in 1985 and left the capital in ruins.